Most students go straight from high school to college. It’s the expected path, the recommended path — maybe even the safest. And there’s nothing wrong with it; this trajectory is exactly what many students need.
But at UNC this trend is being challenged. Some students are starting to step outside the norm, taking a “gap year” before starting.
I did the same thing before starting at UNC. I chose to take a year off before throwing myself back at the rigors of academics, extracurricular activities and internships that have since defined my college years. During my gap year I did everything from working in a factory, to interning with a professional ceramicist, to spending three months with a Maasai tribe in Tanzania.
The year challenged me to work, travel and build a foundation for growth at UNC. I came to college refreshed, ready to learn, and full of new languages and cultures: a global citizen in the making.
UNC is becoming a national hot spot for students interested in taking a year off, thanks to recent efforts by student government, the Admissions Office, the Campus Y and a core group of “gapper” students and friends.
A private donation recently made UNC the first public university to financially support gap years in the U.S. Starting with the class of 2015, the Global Gap Year Fellowship will offer five incoming freshmen up to $7,500 for an international, service-based experience before they come to school. In years following, that number will grow to 10 or more.
UNC students, myself included, have also come together this year to create one of the nation’s first student gap year organizations, called Gappl: UNC’s Gap Year People. Our goal is to advocate for gap years and support current gappers. We are beginning a national discussion on how to integrate gap years into the college transition process.
Not all students choose to take a year off before college. Some choose the “stop-out” method, taking a year off in the middle of their college years. One Carolina student, junior Marietta Stewart, claims, “My stop-out year was a time of self-reflection. I needed the time to stop learning and remember what I was intrinsically passionate about. It was my time to be truly independent.”
UNC’s approach to gap years is unique because it isn’t looking at them simply as a “year off.” A structured year can complement a student’s academic years, giving them experiences to reinforce their classes and extracurricular activities. The growing infrastructure will help the returning “gappers” integrate these experiences into their undergraduate career.
